Dear Al Sharma of Taibal,
We are going to attack the Crusaders. Our commander was furious when he heard that the great Christian city of Anitoch was captured again by the Crusaders, and they killed many men inside. After the messenger came out of his tent, our commander ordered us to pack up, and took me and 20 men to go search the countryside ahead of the Crusaders, so that we could ambush them. Finally, we found a low plain, surrounded by two valleys, and with a bit of marsh land underfoot. The plain was wide enough for our horses to ride, so that we could attack the men of Sir Bohemond, yet it was not open land so that the men could easily escape. We know that our main strength will be in our archery, as the Crusaders have not been skilled in firing from horseback. However, our biggest surprise will be our foot archers, who could fire into ranks of men from huge distances, due to the fact that they held a massive bow with their feet rather than their hands. Our fight is to be held at the plains of Dorylaeum. Our full force of 50,000 men will be able to easily destroy the small vanguard of 20,000 men. We expect the starving Crusaders to be easily defeated, for they are weakened from the lack of food, which we have in plenty. Our massive force of foot archers will also easily kill hundreds of men, and we should easily decimate Bohemond’s men.
From your friend,
Asaif al-Aliquah
Mother,
I almost died today. The Crusading Commander came, and we saw that it was Bohemond of Italy. We also saw that we outnumbered them greatly. We were killing many men, mainly with our bows fired from the horse, and this surprised them for they were not experienced in this form of fighting. For a while, we took them down with many arrows, and brought down a huge number of their foot soldiers and knights. This was one of our main skills, for we had all been taught, since we were little children, how to fire a bow. However, Bohemond fought like a ferocious, starving lion, taking down men wherever he went. However, the rest of his men did not fight as he did. There were a few that fought next to their commander, but they were easily killed by our superb archers. As Bohemond saw that we were overtaking them, he called for one single last stand, to hold the line of the camp. From that point, our commander ordered the foot archers to aim more towards the campsite. With this, our men started to break through the lines, losing many men but also killing many. As I looked about the field, I easily saw 4,000 Crusaders dead on the field. However, a loud horn blast and the thundering of hooves suddenly turned my head, for our men had all been attacking the small cluster of men in the camp, and they could not possibly make a full charge. As I looked on, I saw the banners of Byzantine, and of Duke Godfrey and his brother, Baldwin, with 55,000 men strong, all thundering towards us. Although we had the numbers to defeat them, and many fell down with our foot archers, they were such a frightening sight, there was nothing for us to do but turn and flee. I had a huge leg wound, and could not run properly. My brother, Taymur al-Aliquah, found me and took me up onto his horse, and we ran off together, chased quickly by the Crusaders.
From, your son,
Asaif al-Aliquah
